And the Oscar Goes to... (1937) Quiz

Answer: George Jessel

George Jessel (1898-1981) began his career in New York as a vaudevillian and Broadway performer. He began acting in film in 1919 and remained active into the '30s, after which he focused his efforts primarily on producing. His appearances on TV and film cropped up again in the '50s until he retired three years before his death in 1981.

While at the height of his career, Jessel was also known for his notorious personal life, in which he had affairs with actresses Pola Negri, Helen Morgan and Lupe Vélez. In 1934 he married actress Norma Talmadge, who was herself married when their affair began.

Answer: Paul Muni

Paul Muni (1895-1967) was a versatile actor who was so good at his craft that he was one of the few who could choose the parts he wanted rather than merely take what was given by the studio. In his career he received six Oscar nominations for Best Actor, although this was his only win.

Muni began acting at a young age (12), but his professional career began in 1926 on Broadway. A brief stint in Hollywood garnered him his first Best Actor Nomination for "The Valiant" (1929), after which he returned to Broadway for a time. His return to Hollywood in 1932 brought opportunities such as Scarface (1932) and "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" (1932), which won him critical acclaim and a long-term studio contract. Health difficulties forced his retirement from acting in the early '60s.

"The Story of Louis Pasteur" is a biographical film dramatizing the struggle Pasteur faces against his colleagues in putting forth his theories. When he saves a young boy from a rabies bite, he is vindicated.

Answer: Walter Brennan

Walter Brennan (1894-1974) lived a varied existence before becoming an actor, including working as a bank clerk, serving during WWI, raising pineapples in Guatemala, and becoming rich in real estate. After losing everything in the Great Depression, Brennan turned to acting. In his career, he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor three times.

"Come and Get It" follows the story of a man who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals, rising from life as a lowly lumberjack to head of the logging industry. The author of the novel, Edna Ferber, approved the adaptation of her work on the condition that her story focus not be lost - highlighting the industrial rape of America by the robber barons of the day.

Answer: Luise Rainer

Luise Rainer was born in Germany in 1910 and was raised there and in Austria in her youth. She entered the entertainment world at the age of 16 and made her first professional stage appearance at the age of 18. After being 'discovered' by MGM studios in 1934, Luise initially wanted nothing to do with the film industry, but after seeing "A Farewell to Arms" (1932), she became enamored of the industry.

"The Great Ziegfeld" is a fictionalized musical biography of Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., perhaps most well known for his series of Broadway musical reviews called "The Ziegfeld Follies" (1907-1931). In the film, Rainer played the part of Ziegfeld's first wife, Anna Held. Her portrayal of the role earned not only Rainer's first Oscar, but also the first-ever Oscar awarded for an acting role in a musical.

Answer: False

Both categories were, in fact, introduced this year. The winner of the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress was Gale Sondergaard (1899-1985) for her role in "Anthony Adverse".

This Oscar-winning performance was Sondergaard's first film appearance, after an already-established theater career. She only received one other Best Actress nomination in her career, which spanned nearly 50 years. Her last film was 1983's "Echoes", just two years prior to her death from cerebrovascular thrombosis.

"Anthony Adverse" is based on the novel of the same name by Hervey Allen, which follows the adventures of the title character through his misfortunes as a child, his marriage misadventure, and his globetrotting missteps.

Answer: Anthony Adverse

The production credits for "Anthony Adverse" name Erich Wolfgang Korngold for Original Music, and Leo F. Forbstein for Music Supervision.

Korngold (1897-1957) was an Austro-Hungarian composer who, along with contemporaries Max Steiner and Alfred Newman, is considered one of the founders of film music. On his IMDB page, Korngold has 21 composer credits, 18 soundtrack credits, and 17 music department credits. Unfortunately, the credit for this Oscar only officially went to Forbstein as the department head.

Forbstein (1892-1948) was an American composer and musician who was also a pioneer in film music department supervision. With over 600 film music department credits to his name, Forbstein's contribution to the film industry was potent. Sadly, his life was cut short when he suffered a heart attack in 1948 (while working on the score for the 1948 Academy Awards).

Answer: The Way You Look Tonight

"The Way You Look Tonight" was written by Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern. Originally performed by Astaire, it has been performed over the years by many other artists, including Billie Holiday in the same year that it was released (1936).

"Swing Time" featured four dance routines and is considered one of the best examples of its kind for the genre. While the dance routines have been lauded, however, the film's plot has often been criticized as weak. Gambler and dancer Astaire ('Lucky' Garnett) misses his wedding and must earn $25,000 to have another chance. In the process, he ends up falling in love with his dance instructor Penny (played by Rogers).

Answer: The Story of Louis Pasteur

Pierre Collings (1900-1937) was a rising star within the screen writing industry when his life was tragically cut short in the same year that his work was being lauded at the Academy Awards. He died of pneunomia.

Sheridan Gibney (1903-1988) was most active as a writer in the '30s and '40s, although his 23 writing credits included a handful of titles into the '70s. He acted as the Screen Writer's Guild from 1939-1941.

"The Story of Louis Pasteur" dramatized the life of the scientist who, along with his small group of assistants, fights through adversity to pursue his research, finding a cure for anthrax.

Answer: True

"The Story of Louis Pasteur" managed to win Oscars for two categories that are normally mutually exclusive. How can a story be both original AND adapted? In this case, it's because it was adapted from the historical record of Pasteur's life while still being written as an original dramatic tale.

Pierre Collings and Sheridan Gibney were the recipients of the statuette once again.

Answer: Dodsworth

"Dodsworth" follows the story of Sam Dodsworth, head of the Dodsworth Motor Company. When Sam's wife, Fran, yearns for a more sophisticated existence, she convinces him to sell his portion of the company and travel around Europe. From there their relationship changes for the worse, as Fran decides that her husband is a bore and a boor, and that she deserves better.

The Best Art Direction Oscar was received by Richard Day (1896-1972), a Canadian whose career was highlighted by 20 Oscar nominations and seven wins.

Answer: Anthony Adverse

Tony Gaudio (1883-1951) moved from Italy to New York in 1906 and began working in a film laboratory. Soon thereafter, he graduated to cinematography work, getting his first short film credit in 1909 and his first feature-length film credit in 1916. Over his better than 40 years in the industry, Gaudio worked on 147 films as a cinematographer. "Anthony Adverse" earned him his only Oscar win out of seven nominations in his career.

The globe-spanning epic "Anthony Adverse" provided ample opportunity for a cinematographer to ply his craft as the title character travels to various European locations, as well as to Cuba and Africa in his effort to find his place in the world.

Answer: False

"Anthony Adverse" took both awards. In fact, "The Story of Louis Pasteur" was not actually nominated in either the Cinematography or the Film Editing categories.

Ralph Dawson (1897-1962) was active as a film editor for 30 years, from the mid-1920s until the mid 1950s. In total he is credited with having edited 77 movie titles, winning three Oscars in the process.

Answer: The Charge of the Light Brigade

Jack Sullivan (1893-1946) worked as an assistant director on 35 films from 1923 to 1946. On the set of "The Charge of the Light Brigade" he worked with director Michael Curtiz to bring to life the well-known Tennyson poem.

The story has Errol Flynn and Patric Knowles as officers with the 27th Lancers of the British Army in India circa 1854. Olivia de Havilland plays Elsa, whose affection is secretly transferred from one brother (Flynn) to the other (Knowles), with dire consequences.

Answer: Frank Capra

Frank Capra (1897-1991) was probably the most influential director of the 1930s and '40s; his name earned top billing above even his movies' titles, and people flocked to the theaters when one of his movies was playing. Over his career 13 of his films earned Academy Awards, and he himself earned three Oscars as Best Director.

The film that won Capra the Oscar at the '37 Academy Awards was "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town". The story follows a young, simple man named Longfellow Deeds (played by Gary Cooper) who comes into a $20 million inheritance at the height of the Depression. Simple though he may be, Deeds proves that he is a good judge of character as he manages to fend off the greedy opportunists after his money.

The film was based on the story "Opera Hat"; a serial publication by Clarence Budington that was published within the Saturday Evening Post.

Answer: The Great Ziegfeld

"The Great Ziegfeld" was a spectacular show that featured a number of musical productions, following a fictional account of Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. (known for his real-life "Ziegfeld Follies" musical revues, as well as for producing "Show Boat").

Ziegfeld was played by William Powell, and Luise Rainer acted the role of Ziegfeld's wife, Anna Held.